It's 50 years since this documentary was made and in that time our perception of sharks has been a rocky one. It is clear since Peter Gimbel began making this film that our and even the knowledge of Oceanographers is not as great as it is today. The crews pursuit for Great Whites off the coast of South Africa, the Indian Ocean and finally off the coast of Australia is followed as though an odyssey for the team. They even trail a South African whaling ship as it harpoons sperm whales in one of the saddest and upsetting moments in the film with the carcass attracting a number of predator sharks. We then see sperm whales being cut up for their resources. Thankfully this is a depleted industry today.
Of course it is very much a documentary of its time, but nevertheless is beautifully shot with the contrasting blue of the sky and the Indian Ocean being particularly striking, as well as the boats silhouetted against the sunsets, all played to the beautiful hippy folk songs of Tom Chapin. What else than a 60s/70s documentary film crew would bring a folk singer along with them?
There are some well known name personalities involved in this film. Gimbel had been approached by Steven Spielberg to assist in the making of JAWS (1975), but declined as he said he was a filmmaker not a cameraman. The pair who feature strongly in this documentary, filmmakers, former champion spear fishermen couple Ron and Valerie Taylor did agree to film the underwater sequences in Spielberg's film and became well known personalities following both this documentary and Spielberg's film and in the process became champions for shark awareness as a conservation issue. Sadly JAWS itself was a part of the problem making sharks a target and prey for "sport" and big game fishermen.
Despite this and the slightly dated look and attitudes, this film is a beautiful hommage to amazing creatures and shows a great deal of respect for the sharks. Also included in the documentary is Rodney Fox, famous as a diver who was badly mauled by sharks but spent a lifetime studying and filming sharks (a photo of Fox's injuries appears in JAWS).
Of course it is very much a documentary of its time, but nevertheless is beautifully shot with the contrasting blue of the sky and the Indian Ocean being particularly striking, as well as the boats silhouetted against the sunsets, all played to the beautiful hippy folk songs of Tom Chapin. What else than a 60s/70s documentary film crew would bring a folk singer along with them?
There are some well known name personalities involved in this film. Gimbel had been approached by Steven Spielberg to assist in the making of JAWS (1975), but declined as he said he was a filmmaker not a cameraman. The pair who feature strongly in this documentary, filmmakers, former champion spear fishermen couple Ron and Valerie Taylor did agree to film the underwater sequences in Spielberg's film and became well known personalities following both this documentary and Spielberg's film and in the process became champions for shark awareness as a conservation issue. Sadly JAWS itself was a part of the problem making sharks a target and prey for "sport" and big game fishermen.
Despite this and the slightly dated look and attitudes, this film is a beautiful hommage to amazing creatures and shows a great deal of respect for the sharks. Also included in the documentary is Rodney Fox, famous as a diver who was badly mauled by sharks but spent a lifetime studying and filming sharks (a photo of Fox's injuries appears in JAWS).